Irons are mostly used for short shots. Irons are available in sets consisting of different sizes. Before you choose one for that shot, you should take into consideration the length, style and even the material it is made from. If you think you want to make a swift swing, an iron with a steel shaft may be just what you are looking for. It will give you more control over the swing than others.  A long distance shot or a slow swing will be better served with an iron made of graphite. It will be lighter than the steel one, though if cost is a factor, you may not have one.

The term flex or bend refers to the flexibility of a club’s shaft.  If a shaft has less, rather than more flex, the golfer will retain more control over his swing. Beginners should choose a shaft with more flex. Their swing speed will usually not exceed 65 mph, while the swing of a pro will most likely be in excess of 100 mph.

When hitting with a short iron, your shoulders, hips and feet should be aligned to the tee, while with middle irons, the alignment should be more to the side. If you have a long chip shot you will require a 5-iron or perhaps a 6-iron, but if the distance is shorter use an 8 or 9-iron. If you’re not sure which you should choose, generally speaking, a 7-iron will do fine for mid-range.

Iron shots are generally hit very crisply and in a downward motion.  The club head should come in contact with the ball, continuing down and through and taking some turf (called a divot). This is to give the ball some backspin, which will stop it from rolling too far when it lands. You won’t want it to roll when you are making a mid to short shot. For a long iron shot, keep your stance similar to that for a wood. The ball should be off the left heel, but is paled more towards the right foot. Keep your swing slightly more upright and, on the shorter shots, your back swing and follow through are not as full.

Basically, playing with a handicap means that the weaker golfer may be allowed to deduct one of those many strokes it took to get to the hole. Then when the score is totalled at the end of the round, the net score is ascertained by subtracting the gross score minus the strokes they were allowed. There is no par allowed in computing handicaps, but course rating and slope rating are considered.

In the 1980’s there was more added to the handicap system by means of estimating the slope difficulty of a course. This was in addition to the longstanding ‘course rating’. Slope rating is a number representing the degree of difficulty of a slope, with 113 being considered an average difficulty for a course. The least is 55 and the most difficult goes to 155.

The official USGA Handicap Index is a difficult and complicated formula, which thankfully, players do not have to worry about working out. A player can get a handicap index by joining clubs allowed to issue them.

A course handicap is a different thing altogether. This tells the player how many strokes they are allowed on a particular course and are available from charts that most golf courses have. Alternately, they can be worked out with the use of online course handicap calculators. To work it out the only information you need is the slope rating of the course and a USGA Handicap Index. Once you have this course handicap, you are able to play with any golfer in the world on an equal basis – but you must be a member of a club that is authorized to issue them. Most are, so that should not be difficult. You could also take 10 friends and form a club with a handicap committee yourself, without needing any real estate. Then you can post your scores by using a computer, after every round and the committee will handle all the computations and should issue the handicap indexes once a month.

For one thing, it’s a lot cheaper – and some have rubber tees and artificial grass so you can’t ruin it. Some golf courses provide a driving range for their patrons to use while others may be found all alone, but wherever you go they are basically the same.

Each driving range is equipped with stalls divided by wooden or metal partitions. Unless the place is packed, leave at least one empty stall between yourself and the next player. This will help to alleviate the distraction of their swing and help you to concentrate on your own. But first you’ll need balls; a lot of them. You can buy or hire them from the attendant or get them from an automatic dispensing machine. Put in your token and hey presto! Out tumble the balls. Remember to hang your bucket over the nozzle, or there will be balls going in all directions.

The better driving ranges have automatic tees, so you don’t have to continually place the ball on the tee. Since you’ll be playing a lot of strokes, this is important. You could get exhausted just bending down and teeing up the ball. At least if the grass is artificial you won’t have to worry about cutting up the turf. If the grass on the driving range is the real McCoy, give yourself plenty of room so you can move around as you cut it up.

It’s a good idea to use all of your clubs to practise with. This will give you a good idea of how they feel and what they do. After you’ve become used to them, choose the ones you will use most and practise diligently with them. There’s only one thing wrong with a driving range. They cannot emulate all the different conditions found on the green. They don’t have bunkers, so you can’t practice how to get out of one. They don’t have roughs. Still, you will get a good practice with your swing and save tearing up the true green.

The most important factor to consider is your balance. You need to be able to keep good balance right up to the point of contact – afterwards is not so important, since the ball is already in the air by then. If the ball is above your feet in a sidehill lie you’ll need a flatter swing. If you feel as if the pitch is up to your knees, grip the club further down than usual. You must aim for your shot to have a low, hooking trajectory, so align yourself to the right of the target. If you have a tendency to hit a fat shot, put the ball further back in your stance to compensate.

If the ball is below your feet in a sidehill lie, it will usually peel off towards the right. This is a difficult shot for most players. It’s really hard to maintain address posture and you often get a low slice or topped shot. Bend by flexing your knees and tilting at the hips, use plenty of club and aim to the left. Keep your weight off your toes if possible and concentrate on keeping your balance. Your swing plane will be more vertical.

An uphill lie is slightly easier to play than the other uneven shots. Just remember that because the ground slopes upwards, more loft will be added to the club, thus causing the ball to fly shorter than usual. You must allow for the fact that your right shoulder will be lower than your left in this play. Your weight will be more towards the right due to the slope. Watch that you don’t fall backwards at impact, as this will pull the ball towards the left. It is advisable to aim slightly to the right to allow for any movement to the side.

In a downhill lie, the ball will naturally go lower and further. It often seems to tail to the right. To compensate for the fast low trajectory of the ball, select one or two clubs shorter than usual. The ball should be back in your stance. The steeper the ground is, the further back the ball should be. Your swing should be compact and weight shift less assertive with a lower body turn. You must keep your swing compacted and controlled to help you succeed in uneven lies. Much practice is needed, but that’s half the fun and when you see your game improve, you’ll be glad you did it.

Experts will tell you that the best approach for putting is a bold one. Too many times golfers have gone easy on their hits only to fall short enough to make them annoyed (to say the least). But when they play more aggressively and overrun the hole, the damage is not as severe. While a delicate putt might be fine for a green that is smooth and fast, bold strokes are far more likely to take the ball to the hole and they are super for a green that is shaggy, where a delicate swing is not. So if you get into the habit of playing bold putts, you will be more likely to sink that ball.

Dave “Professor Putt” Pelz, used a special putting robot to prove that the putt most likely to succeed in its aim is one that’s firm enough to carry the ball 17 inches past the hole. A firm stroke is a good stroke, according to Greg Norman, who plays all his putting shots aggressively.

Another good thing about aggressive putting is that if you putt the ball past the hole in a long shot, you’ll be able to see how it breaks and thus get an idea of what the ball will do in the return putt. If you’re short of the hole, you’ll deprive yourself of this important information. When you get the ball to the hole every time – even if you don’t sink it – you’ll be able to pick up certain patterns in your playing that may need adjustment. For instance you might see that you often hit to the right or the left and so need to correct an alignment problem. In a word – go aggressive when you putt.